


Property of the Devil

by some_mighty_fine_print



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Assassins, F/M, Flashbacks, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, Possessive Moriarty, Power Play, Unwilling Cooperation, did you miss me?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:30:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4739696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/some_mighty_fine_print/pseuds/some_mighty_fine_print
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He stared blankly at the gun in her hand as it raised level with his head. </p>
<p>“You know I know you won’t.” Jim’s wicked smile had returned. “You’re on the side of the angels, but you belong to the devil…” her face fell as he took the three steps necessary to reach her. His eyes glinted dangerously as he slipped the gun from her fingers. “You’re mine now.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**_Prologue ~_ **

_She raised her arm slowly, her hand shaking slightly with the weight of the gun she held._

_Jim smirked. “You can’t.” he took a step towards her. “I know you can’t.”_

_“Oh, yeah?” she scoffed, feigning bravado, and shot the floor next to his foot. “Try me.”_

_“You missed.” He smiled._

_“The next one won’t.” she glared down the barrel of the gun._

_“Fine.” Jim stopped, his face going blank. “I know you won’t.”_

_“No you don’t.” she smirked back at him, but it was fake._

_Jim narrowed his eyes, scrutinising her as he spoke; his voice low and dangerous."Do not lie to me. Don't ever think you're capable of getting away with it."_

_“DON’T LIE TO ME!” he shouted, making her flinch slightly. “You know I know you won’t.” Jim’s wicked smile had returned. “You’re on the side of the angels, but you belong to the devil…” her face fell as he took the three steps necessary to reach her. His eyes glinted dangerously as he slipped the gun from her fingers. “You’re mine now.”_


	2. I Know You’re Alive…

Scarlett watched her friend curiously as they got coffee. “Molly, what’s wrong?”

“What?!” Molly looked at her, shock and a twinge of fear in her eyes.

“Well, you’re all jittery.” Scarlett mused as she sipped her coffee. “And today your coffee is _black_ … black, two sugars… you’re white and _one_ … and you were late to work today…” she paused, a flicker of hope in the pit of her stomach. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing Lettie!” Molly replied, mortified.

Scarlett felt her jaw drop, a well-practised fake smile lighting her features. “Oh my! There’s a guy! Did he stay over and make you late today?” Scarlett smirked at the blush that tinted her friends’ cheeks as she slapped her arm playfully. “You go girl!”

“I guess you could say that…” Molly scowled at her coffee for a moment before smiling back at Scarlett, but it was obviously forced.

“Do I get to meet him?” Scarlett asked nonchalantly, creating her own deductions from her friends’ reaction.

“I, er…” Molly stuttered as she retreated. “I… have a biopsy…”

“Catch you later then.” Scarlett smiled at her friend before smiling sinisterly. “Gotcha… Sherlock.” Scarlett’s eyes narrowed as her pager buzzed at her. “And, of course, I’m called to the ER after I’ve clocked off… bet it’s patient X again… I tell you…one of these days I may have a bad day…”

As Scarlett walked out of the hospital cafeteria to scrub in for emergency surgery, she could’ve sworn she heard a familiar cold, calculating laugh; as the door shut behind her, a shudder rippled down her spine.

_~Flashback~  
{Two years previously…}_

_“So, who do you suppose it was?” John asked as Scarlett entered the lab._

_“Hmm?” Sherlock mumbled, only half listening._

_“The woman on the phone; the crying woman.” John replied, voice touched with concern._

_“Oh, she doesn’t matter, she’s just a hostage. No lead there.” Sherlock replied, looking up at Scarlett briefly as she stood next to him._

_“The patient charts, biopsy report, relevant reading…and coffee,” Scarlett smirked at Sherlock as he looked at the information she’d just given him, a small smile crossing his face. “Black, two sugars, just how you like.”_

_“Thankyou, Scar.” Sherlock said as he took his coffee._

_“You’re welcome.” Scarlett replied, shaking her head at the nickname he’d used. “And it’s Lettie.”_

_“I know you prefer ‘Scar’…though I’ve yet to figure out why.” Sherlock mused quietly._

_“You haven’t figured it out because you don’t really care.” Scarlett smirked at the same time he did._

_“What’s this in aid of?” John asked Scarlett with a confused smile._

_“I may or may not have nicked old patient information…and other things.” Scarlett smirked and shrugged._

_“Yes, yes, very helpful and interesting…” Sherlock cut in, not one for chit-chat. “Do me a favour?” he asked as he fiddled with the microscope. “Hand me that slide, would you?”_

_“Which one?” Scarlett frowned as she looked at the seven or so slides that littered the work station._

_“By the petri dish…” Sherlock replied blankly, smiling ever so slightly as she replaced his current slide with the one he’d asked for. “Pass me my phone…”_

_“Where is it?” John asked in exasperation, looking around with a bored expression._

_“Jacket…” Sherlock stated simply. Scarlett raised a sarcastic eyebrow at John as he huffed and walked around the work station bench, reaching roughly into Sherlock’s jacket pocket. “Careful!”_

_“Text…from your brother.” John said as he looked through Sherlock’s phone._

_“Delete it.” Sherlock replied quickly._

_“Delete it?” John asked sceptically._

_“Missile plans are out of the country now.” Sherlock continued bluntly. “Nothing we can do about it.”_

_“Well, Mycroft thinks there is…” John stared at Sherlock’s phone as Scarlett peeked at it over his shoulder._

_“Yeah…he’s texted you eight times.” She made a face at the manner of Mycroft’s texts. “Must be important.”_

_“Then why didn’t he cancel his dentist appointment?” Sherlock asked himself as he leant back from the microscope._

_“What?” John frowned as Scarlett moved around the work station to lean on the side opposite Sherlock, smirking and rolling her eyes with him at John’s question._

_“Mycroft never texts when he can talk.” Sherlock continued as he stared into the middle distance for a moment, thinking. “Look, Andrew West stole the missile plans, tried to sell them, got his head smashed in for his pains, end of story.” Sherlock glanced up at Scarlett briefly. “The only mystery is this: why is my brother so determined to bore me when somebody else is being so delightfully interesting?”_

_“Try and remember there’s a woman who might die.” John said solemnly._

_“What for? There’s hospitals full of people dying, Doctor.” Sherlock looked sideways at John. “why don’t you go cry by their bedside and see what good it does them?” Sherlock glanced at the now beeping computer with gumption. “Ah!” he frowned at the screen._

_Scarlet looked towards the door when it squeaked open and heard Molly’s happy voice. “Any luck?”_

_“Oh, yes!” Sherlock smiled at the screen as Molly came to look at the screen as well._

_Scarlett jumped as the door squeaked open again and an all too familiar voice followed. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t…”_

_“Jim! Hi!” Molly flustered as Jim stood by the door, sizing up everyone in the room, a smug smile tugging at his lips as he saw Scarlett. “Come in! Come in!”_

_“Leaving…” Scarlett said uncomfortably as she locked eyes with Jim._

_“Staying.” Sherlock replied, his voice low and dangerous as Molly came over to them all wide-eyed and smiling._

_“Jim, this is Sherlock Holmes.” Molly gestured to Sherlock as Jim’s eyes left Scarlett and he smiled at Molly again._

_“Ah.” He said as he let the door fall closed and walked over to their small gathering._

_“And, er… Sorry.” Molly frowned as she looked at John and blanked._

_John sighed as he replied. “John Watson, hi.”_

_“Hi.” Jim answered before looking Sherlock over. “So, you’re Sherlock Holmes. Molly’s told me all about you. You on one of your cases?”_

_“Jim works in IT, upstairs.” Molly explained, slightly unnecessarily. “That’s how we met…Office romance.” Molly shot Jim a sly look as he chuckled quietly; there was the Jim Scarlett knew…_

_Sherlock looked Jim over briefly. “Gay.”_

_“So not.” Scarlett whispered just loud enough for Sherlock to hear._

_“Sorry, what?” Molly’s face fell immediately, not noticing when Jim shot Scarlett a fake hesitant smile; Scarlett nearly laughed, this was so not Jim. So very not Jim…_

_“Nothing.” Sherlock replied bluntly then gave him a fake smile. “Hey.”_

_“Hi.” Jim replied with a small smile and then fell over himself trying to pick up whatever it was he’d pretended to knock off the counter ‘accidently’. “Sorry. Sorry!” It didn’t skip Scarlett’s attention when he slipped a piece of paper under the metal dish he placed back on the counter. “Well, I’d better be off. I’ll see you at the Fox.” Jim smiled at Molly and Scarlett nearly laughed again as Molly blushed. Oh, if only she knew. “About sixish?”_

_“Yeah.” Molly smiled shyly back at him._

_Jim touched Molly’s shoulder briefly before looking quickly at Scarlett and then Sherlock. “Bye… It was nice to meet you.” He looked expectantly at Sherlock, but received no response._

_John looked on awkwardly before replying. “You too.”_

_Jim looked at John indifferently as he turned to go, fire in his eyes again as he looked at Scarlett and then made for the door._

_“What do you mean ‘gay’?” Molly asked with a strained smile. “We’re together.”_

_“And domestic bliss must suit you, Molly.” Sherlock said simply, eyeing Molly briefly._

_“Oh, so not staying for this.” Scarlett said in a strained voice as she walked towards the door._

_“Don’t blame you.” John said back at her calmly as she opened the door._

_The door snapped shut, effectively drowning out the rest of that not so nice conversation as Scarlett walked off. She gasped as someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a utility closet, glaring as she spun around to face Jim._

_“What are you playing at?!” Scarlett hissed through clenched teeth. “Let me go!”_

_“No.” Jim smirked back at her, glad she knew it was him now._

_“We agreed you’d never come here.” Scarlett glared up at him in the dim light._

_“You’re angry with me!” Jim feigned hurt briefly before smiling. “Good.”_

_“Yes Jim, I’m angry.” Scarlett snarled quietly. “I don’t see you for weeks and then I see you with Molly of all people…and pretending to be gay?! Seriously?! Sometimes I just…” Scarlett stopped dead, not believing it when her hand came up and smacked Jim across the face. As he looked at her again, his eyes twinkled with malevolence. “Well, you had it coming.” She spat and reached for the door handle._

_“Oh no you don’t, my angel.” Jim chuckled darkly as his hand ensnared her wrists and pinned them above her head and he locked the door, silencing her cry of protest with a fierce kiss. As he pressed himself against her more firmly, he murmured to her again. “Oh no you don’t.”  
~End flashback~_

As Scarlett pressed her scalpel against the patients’ flesh and began the first incision she smiled. ‘If Sherlock is alive… then maybe Jim is too…’

Scarlett called her own flat number, tapping her foot as she waited for the answering machine. As the tone sounded in her ear, she spoke. “I know you’re listening…though I don’t know for how long.” She glared at a shadow out of the corner of her eye. “I know you’re alive…”


	3. Use Your Head

Scarlett raised an eyebrow as she neared the door to her apartment…it was slightly ajar, but there were no signs of forced entry. _‘Curious.’_ She thought as her hand closed around the doorknob… and then she smelt it. That oh-so familiar cologne. Jim was _here_ …

Scarlett felt her stomach clench in a mixture of relief, concern, fear, and anger at the only man she’d ever let herself close enough to to love.

As she placed her folders and purse on the dining table, Scarlett heard an all too familiar voice. A voice she had not expected to hear ever again…

“Hello.” The voice behind her made a shiver run the length of her spine.

“Jim.” She replied, refusing to turn to face him; knowing full well what would happen if she did.

“Won’t you even _look_ at me?” he asked softly, his tone disapproving. Scarlett heard him take a step forwards and felt his hands rest gently on her hips. “Shame…”

Scarlett spun on the spot, her hand connecting with his face with a deafening _crack!_ “You bastard.” She glared up at Jim as he turned to look at her again, his hand massaging where she’d slapped him. “How dare you.” She hissed, eyes narrowed dangerously. “Not one word for two years and then…” she trailed off, her anger getting the better of her and _crack!_ Her hand connected with his face again. “You let me _grieve_ for you! Let me believe I would _never_ see you again; never _hold_ you again! You fucking…” she couldn’t even finish her thought as her hand rose to strike Jim again.

Jim caught her by her wrist as she went to smack him across the face again, grabbing her other hand and pulling her harshly towards him; holding her there as she struggled against him fruitlessly. “Stop it.” He commanded, eyes glinting with purpose.

“No!” Scarlett screamed at him as she tried to shove him away. “Y-you fucking bastard! You…you…” Scarlett crumpled against him, silent, dry sobs ripping through her as Jim folded his arms around her tightly.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t wear an expensive suit…” he chuckled as he shushed and cooed to her softly. “You’d have ruined it, love…”

“Couldn’t you _pretend_ to have a human reaction for _five_ minutes?” Scarlett’s voice turned harsh as she tried to shove him away, but he could tell it was only half-heartedly.

“I am…I’m trying to be calm and not do what I want.” Jim replied casually. “I want what I want and I want it now. I’m sorry you grieved for me, but even you had to believe I was dead in order for this little venture to work.” Jim continued as she stopped shoving at him. “I’m merely trying to make light of the situation seeing as it _hurt_ you.” He shrugged. “It was necessary.”

“Necessary?” Scarlett snarled; her voice laced with venom. “You let me think you were _dead_!” Scarlett scowled at him as he leant back, his hands gripping her upper arms. “You _fucking bastard_. I _loved_ you!”

“I never told you to love me.” Jim said softly as he held her firmly.

“You never told me _not_ to.” Scarlett countered and she saw his eyes flash, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth before he kissed her roughly, walking her backwards.

“Do you want me to let you go?” Jim murmured against Scarlett’s lips as he finally felt her hit the wall.

Scarlett reached up and dragged Jim down to her again, crushing his lips against hers as her other hand found the handle of her bedroom door. “ _Never._ ”

***

“Don’t _ever_ do that to me again.” Scarlett whispered as she lay in Jim’s arms, the sheets about their waists as they watched the sun rising through her bedroom window. “I know you want people to think you can’t feel…but you do…” she leant up, nipping at his ear as she traced an ‘X’ over Jim’s heart and whispered. “You have a heart…right _here_.”

“It’s necessary to live, of course I have one.” Scarlett pouted and Jim smirked at her.

“You care. I know you do.” Scarlett smiled smugly back at him.

“Oh, and how’s that?” Jim raised an eyebrow at her, wicked smile in place.

“Because…” she murmured softly, leaning down to graze her lips against his teasingly. “You came _back_ …”

“True,” Jim sighed before smiling back at her. “You got me there, darlin’.” Jim’s smile became mischievous and Scarlett felt his hand begin to wander up her leg.

“I can’t…not _again_ , Jim…” Scarlett protested, but it was only a half-arsed effort. “I’ll barely be able to walk as it is…” she smirked, biting her lip in the way she’d come to know he found irresistible.

“Mmm…” Jim mumbled as he lent in and began kissing up her neck, chuckling quietly when she moaned softly. “Yes, I think you can, love.”

“But I have work in an hour…” Scarlett bit her lip as she saw the clock but smiled when she leant back slightly and saw the look in Jim’s eyes.

“You’re going to be late…”

***

No one seemed to have noticed her absence for most of the day, which was a good thing really. She didn’t have to explain where she’d been that way. Scarlett was interrupted mid-thought as she rounded a corner:

“She’s a liability if we use her to get to him… because she’s smarter than us!” Scarlett frowned as she neared the lifts, listening to a familiar voice argue with someone on the phone. “Yes, I know… if we could separate them…well then, how would you do it?” Scarlett recognised Doctor Bryan’s voice and she stopped by the lifts, eavesdropping around the corner. “No… I don’t think he’d care, that’s why… well, if she proves to actually be a soft spot then… yes, well… I’ll find out…”

Curious, Scarlett rounded the corner and leant against the wall. “Who’s a soft spot?” she smirked as he jumped and turned to look at her.

“I’ll call you back…” he said as he ended the call and picked up his roster from the table beside him. “Scarlett!” he smiled and then looked from his phone to her as he pocketed his phone. “Patients mother might be able to get him to agree to treatment… _mental_ disorder…among other things…”

Scarlett nodded. “Well, if you need a hand, give me a bell.” She smiled as she turned on her heel and walked back the way she’d come; the word _liability_ repeating in her mind as she went about her rounds, the tone of his conversation bothering her the whole day.

Scarlett froze as she heard Doctor Bryan’s voice just outside the patients’ room she was in “If his life were in danger… she might be more willing to _bat for our team_ … so to speak…” he said as she moved to hide behind the door. “Yes, well, call me when you know what you’re doing. This back and forth stuff is getting us nowhere.”

Scarlett sighed as she heard him walk away. She wanted to believe he was talking about a patient… but there was something off in his demeanour lately that had her curious… but would her curiosity cause her more harm than good?

With an expression that wouldn’t suggest comfort in any way, Scarlett pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled, looking around to see if anyone was watching. The phone was picked up after the third ring. “Hey…Mycroft…it’s Scarlett…listen… I need to call in that favour…” she paused as she heard him sigh, then jumped as something fell over in the next room. She checked but couldn’t see anyone, so she continued, “I need you to do a check on a Doctor Scott Bryan…”

***

Scarlett’s eyes darted about anxiously as she left the hospital, feeling someone watching her as she made her way past the ambulance bay. She stopped dead as she turned the corner, the tip of a gun shoved against her head as someone twisted her arm painfully behind her back and covered her mouth and nose with a white cloth that smelled of… _chloroform_. Scarlett’s eyes widened as she recognised the smell, struggling against her captor as a black van screeched to a stop beside them.

 _‘Use your head, Scar.’_ Scarlett heard Jim’s voice inside her head, a memory of when she’d made a clumsy deduction. _‘It’ll save your life one day.’_

There were people shouting and running everywhere, but Scarlett had the good sense to look up at the windows. The windows to the lab where Sherlock and John were working were open. As her world started to go black, Scarlett managed to pull the hand across her mouth away long enough to scream out “SHERLOCK!” She saw him leap to the window and bang his fist against the glass as she was dragged into the back of the van and the butt end of the gun was wacked against the back of her head, rendering her finally unconscious to the world around her…

***

_~Flashback/Memory Dream~_

_“_ _You know how awful I am at deductions, Jim… can’t we make me better at something I can already do?” Scarlett whined as she felt Jim’s hands on her shoulders._

_“No, I know you can do this.” He asserted. “Try again.”_

_“But-”_

_“Use your head, Scar.” Jim’s eyes narrowed slightly as he circled her. “Focus.” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “It’ll save your life one day. What can you tell me about the man in the photo?”_

_Scarlett glared at the screen of Jim’s phone. “He thinks his shit doesn’t stink.”_

_Jim raised an unamused eyebrow at her comment. “That’s one way of putting it…”_

_“Yeah, remind you of anyone we know?” Scarlett deadpanned as he spun the chair she was in and leant in close to her, trying to intimidate her._

_“Do_ not _mock me, Scar…” Jim narrowed his eyes at her as she continued to smirk at him. “It won’t end well…” Scarlett smiled and leant up, kissing him sweetly. Jim smirked, his eyes still closed, “Oh, you bad girl.”_

_Scarlett hummed quietly in approval as he kissed her again. “Mmm…just how you like me.” She winked as he leant back, stealing his phone from his pocket and waving it in front of him as she unlocked the screen._

_“I can and_ will _punish you for knowing that password, my dear.” Jim’s voice was low, his accent thicker than it ordinarily would’ve been._

 _“I might just let you.” Scarlett smirked as she looked at the photo again. “Thirty, smart…_ very _smart, arrogant, fit, healthy, few friends, thinks no one can beat him, and…” Scarlett frowned and then smirked as she realised why Jim was showing her this picture. “_ Bored _…” she bit her lip shyly as Jim pulled her to her feet; an arm slipping around her waist. “You’re going after him…you’re going to_ beat _Sherlock Holmes.”_

 _“Good…” He smiled, murmuring against her lips. “Now_ that’s _using your head.”_

_~End flashback/Memory Dream~_

***

_Smack!_

Scarlett felt the sting of the blow, but was still coming to from the chloroform. “Wake up, damnit!”

_Smack!_

“She’s awake. Stop hitting her so we can talk to her.” A second voice commanded and the blows ceased.

Scarlett rolled her head back from the slap, bleary eyes looking up at the man standing before her. She looked him up and down, thinking. _‘Tacky blue shirt, gift from wife… brown shoes… business man… underworld… Black eye, also has bruising to neck and hands… arm has a fresh cut, so recently in a knife fight…limping slightly…shoulders hunched… he lost that fight… analysis… hand-eye coordination when attacking moving opponents is dodgy at best…except in a crowd incident… used mainly as an interrogator.’_ She looked towards the only other man in the room. _‘Five hundred dollar suit… gold watch… knife concealed in left trouser leg… gun hiding in inside pocket of suit jacket… crime boss… analysis… rarely gets his hands dirty… smart… will leave at first sign of trouble.’_

She stopped, her eyes looking for an exit, Jim’s voice echoing in her head again. _‘Use your head, Scar.’_

“Morning gorgeous.” The man that had hit her smirked as he tilted her head up to look at her better.

“Morning… fuckwit.” Scarlett scowled. _Smack!_ “Oh…thanks…” she winced and then dead panned. “I’m awake now.”

“Ah, Miss Scarlett. So glad you could join us.” The second man smirked as she looked at him.

“So glad you could see me…I know you’re a busy man…” Scarlett smirked back. “Lose many in that recent gang brawl?”

“Good…you know who I am.” He smirked.

“Mister Charles Reynolds… ex-politician turned back-stabbing country sell-out; crime syndicate leader in your spare time.” Scarlett stared at him blankly as he paced in front of her. “You could use a better lackey…” she smirked at the first man. “Hits like a girl.”

As the man went to hit her again, Mr. Reynolds tsk’d at him. “No.” the other man glared at them both before storming away. “I do apologise for him… he’s feeling a little… emasculated, of late.” Mr. Reynolds frowned slightly as he pulled up a chair in front of the one Scarlett was tied to. “Here’s the thing, Miss Scarlett… I can’t have people in my way in order to do my work… you’re getting dangerously close, what with your working with the Holmes brothers and your psychotic boyfriend…though he doesn’t seem to be around much now, does he?” he trailed off, looking at her cruelly. “More the first two right now, but… I can’t have people get to me. Your little _band of freaks_ have come the closest…now… they’re _in my way_.” He smirked. “That’s where _you_ come in, my dear.”

Scarlett frowned and then nodded, her eyes closing briefly. “You want me to-”

“Remove them from play, yes.” Mr. Reynolds replied simply. “Oh, and the doctor too.” He nodded at the floor before smirking at her again. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

“You want me to make them come and play?” Scarlett asked and then laughed. “It won’t work.”

“Oh, it will.” He smirked, and Scarlett wondered if he knew something she didn’t.

“You know I won’t do this.” Scarlett raised an eye brow at him as he turned on a static filled screen behind him.

“You will,” he began, pulling a remote from his trouser pocket and pointed it towards the screen. “Or your dear consulting criminal… will die.” As images of Jim walking through the hospital and down the streets of London, Scarlett knew what she had to do; Jim’s voice echoing inside her head loudly. _‘Use your head, Scar…Use your head…Use your head… Use your head!’_


	4. How to Trick the Trickster

“A…Miss Myers...” John smiled as he heard Mary’s voice.

“Righto…” he looked up as he heard his next patient walk into his office. “Hello, how can I…” he stared in disbelief. “Scarlett?”

“Doctor Watson.” She smiled back at him as she sat in the seat opposite John.

“How many times? It’s just John.” He smiled back.

“Not in here it’s not.” She smirked.

“I insist.” When Scarlett complied, he clapped his hands together. “So, how can I help?”

“I’ve had a pain in my lower back for about a week and a half now…” Scarlett confessed with a shy smile. “So I thought I’d better get it checked out…”

“Is that it?” John asked dubiously as he stood and walked over to the hospital examining bed in the corner, patting the paper covered thin mattress. “Or was there something else you wanted to talk about?”

“Well…” Scarlett began as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Lift your shirt for me?” John asked quietly, feeling her back and freezing when she tensed and hissed. “Sorry…” he pressed the sore area again and got the same reaction. “What on Earth have you been doing?”

“I was kidnapped.” Scarlett shrugged and hissed again as he found another tender area. “Ouch…”

“Another regular day at the office for you then.” She heard the smile in John’s voice. “Who was it this time?”

“That’s the thing…I’m in over my head here I’m afraid…” Scarlett sighed, hoping he wouldn’t hear the lie in her voice, and turned to look at John, eyes genuinely pleading. “I need your help…”

***

“You’ve been going to see John…at the clinic he works at…” Sherlock frowned at her.

“Yes.” She nodded once, smiling as she waited for the inevitable assumption he’d make knowing her.

“And also _outside_ his place of work…” Sherlock’s frown vanished as he watched Scarlett sit in the chair where his clients always sat. “Why are you-”

“I need your help, Sherlock…” Scarlett looked up at him as she spoke over him, letting him see how scared she was. “Please…” she sighed as he knelt down in front of her. “You’re the only one who knows… why I love _him_ …”

***

“We caught her skulking around near the armoury, sir.” Scarlett huffed as the two guards shoved her down onto the floor by Mycroft’s feet. “The hidden one, sir.”

“You didn’t _catch_ me… it was the quickest way to get where I wanted to go.” Scarlett sat back on her heels and looked up. “Hello Mycroft…long time, no see.”

He nodded at her before making a dismissive gesture to the guards. “Leave us.”

“But, Mr. Holmes…” one of them began but went immediately silent when Mycroft glared dangerously at him. “Yes, sir.”

“You don’t mind getting into trouble still, I see.” Mycroft smirked as Scarlett raised herself to her feet only to sit on the edge of his desk.

“Old habits die hard, it seems.” She smirked back as he folded his arms.

“Well, you got in…” Mycroft’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Now…what do you want?”

“For your brother to not hide behind that door eavesdropping with a glass pressed against the wood of the door.” Scarlett smirked as Sherlock opened the door behind Mycroft and stepped into the room. She nodded at him, smiling. “Sherlock.”

“You have an uncanny ability to sense my brothers’ presence, Lettie.” Mycroft deadpanned.

“Lettie? You know Scarlett?” Sherlock frowned at his brother.

“Doctor Scarlett Emily Myers of Saint Bart’s Hospital, London.” Mycroft replied quickly. “I have a file on her, Sherlock, of course I know her.”

“Your brother always omits _some_ if not _all_ the facts.” Scarlett raised a speculative eyebrow at Mycroft before continuing. “Living in a world of goldfish makes one… _frustrated_ …he got me out of trouble a few times, I provided a… _service_ to relieve some of that frustration.” She shrugged. “At least until I saved his life one time and he owed me.”

“The Slavic ultimatum…when you went missing for two weeks.” Sherlock said matter-of-factly, a sparkle in his eye as realisation hit.

Scarlett nodded “I got him out…and now I’m calling in that favour.”

***

Scarlett smiled at Mycroft as he and Sherlock stepped out onto the street with her, hailing a cab for her. Scarlett knew Jim knew she’d been to see Mycroft, she had to hurt him to implement her plan…the ultimate betrayal…

As the cab came to a stop by the curb, Scarlett put a gentle hand on Mycroft’s arm. “Thankyou, Mycroft. I know how hard it must be for you to trust me…so… _thankyou_.” Mycroft offered Scarlett a half smile before turning and walking away. Scarlett turned and looked at Sherlock, a familiar SUV in her peripheral vision. “I’ll see you round then, Sherlock.”

“Yes, well…if this works-” Sherlock began, but Scarlett stopped him; leaning up and kissing him, surprised when he lifted a hand to the back of her head briefly before she pulled away. “What was that for?” he asked, dazed…and slightly breathless Scarlett noted with no uncertain degree of amusement.

“It’s me saying thankyou…and…” Scarlett bit her lip as she slipped into the cab, leaning out the window as it drove off. “It’s also my _apology_ …”

Scarlett’s eyes travelled from a bemused Sherlock to the black SUV that had pulled out onto the road and was now following her. This was it…

The _game,_ as Sherlock would say, _was on_!

***

Jim had seen all he needed to. He would make the Holmes brothers pay for seducing his Scarlett away from him…and he’d make her pay for well and truly _tricking_ him.

“Oh, Scar,” he mused, expressionless and eyes glinting cruelly as he watched her say goodbye to Mycroft and Sherlock. “That’s not using your head…” he snarled quietly as he saw his Scarlett kiss Sherlock Holmes before climbing into a cab. He glared at the back her head as he pulled out onto the road began following her “That’s not using you head _at all_ …”

***

Scarlett tensed as she saw the dark figure seated on the edge of the couch. With a shaky hand, Scarlett reached for the light switch, swallowing as the dark room was illuminated. _‘Right then…here we go…’_ Scarlett smiled nervously as Jim gazed back at her calmly. “Jim…hi…”

“Not expecting me, _darling_?” Jim asked as he stood and began taking slow, purposeful steps towards Scarlett. “Well, Christmas has come early.” He smiled briefly before making his expression blank again as he pulled a gun from his jacket pocket and held up a pair of handcuffs.

Scarlett looked at him with condescending disbelief. “Kinky…”

“Turn around, _lover._ ” Scarlett cringed slightly as he growled out the last word but complied with his _request_ ; standing very still as he cuffed her hands behind her back. As Jim roughly pulled a bag over her head, Scarlett froze. This was it. He had her. Now all she had to do was pray he didn’t kill her before she could play out her little scheme to save them all…

***

“Who is that?” Scarlett heard Sherlock’s voice through the muffled darkness that was the bag over her head. _‘Right,’_ she thought. _‘Show time…’_

“Oh, don’t be obvious, Sherlock.” Jim’s haunting voice echoed around the room. “You’d risk John? Your brother?” he paused, clearly observing the indifference between the Holmes brothers. “Maybe you would… maybe you wouldn’t…” he stopped and she heard the smile in his voice as she felt his hand grip the bag over her head. “But, would all three of you risk _her_?” he ripped the bag off her head and she squinted at the overhanging light that formed a circle around the small group, burning her eyes. “You all three of you know her… would you risk her?” he asked as Scarlett looked at the red sniper laser dots on Mycroft, John and Sherlock.

“ _Scarlett_?!” John and Mycroft exclaimed together before looking at each other curiously.

“Oh, Scarlett…why do you always associate with psychopaths?” Sherlock asked blankly, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she smirked. “Maybe they’re just my type…” she shrugged. “Maybe they’re the only ones that’ll have me.”

“”Oh, how sweet.” Jim smiled, but it was false. “So glad to have gotten the gang all back together…” he said, fake sweetness and excitement in his voice. “Now…” he turned his gun on Scarlett. “Pick one.”

“I’m sorry?!” Scarlett started, her eyes darting from John to Mycroft to Sherlock to Jim.

“Don’t apologise…” Jim smiled mockingly as he ran the tip of the gun along her jaw. “Just pick one.” He pointed the gun and Mycroft. “You’re going to pick who dies here tonight…”

Scarlett’s gaze left the men before her, laughing silently as she looked at the ground, twisting the knotted rope binding her hands to loosen it. “Don’t try to beat me, James Moriarty. It won’t work.”

“Of course it will.” Mycroft sneered. “No one beats _Jim Moriarty_.”

“Oh? Really?” Scarlett smiled with fake innocence. “I can.” Her smile turned sinister. “I know you, Jim.” She paused. “Well enough to know you can’t tie a knot to save your life.” She pulled her hands free and held them up for Jim to see. As he turned the gun on her again, Scarlett sighed. “You need me…you need me to pick a life…you need me to suffer…so,” she looked at Mycroft briefly. “You were right…”Scarlett looked back at Jim defiantly. “I am going to pick who dies here tonight…” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “But don’t you think for a second it’ll be who you think.”

“Is it really wise, in your opinion, to be taunting the man holding the gun to your head?” Mycroft made an unamused face at her.

“Only when you’re indispensable…” she smirked. “And, for the moment, I am.” She looked teasingly at Jim. “Isn’t that right, _darling_?”

Jim took a fistful of her hair as he snarled in her ear. “You should know by now not to tease me, my dear…now, PICK ONE!” Scarlett jumped slightly when Jim shouted at her.

“Leave her alone!” Scarlett’s gaze snapped towards John as he yelled at Jim, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he fought whatever adrenaline based instinct was coursing through his system.

“Ooh, someone loves you.” Jim smirked, but his voice was high-pitched…this wasn’t good.

As Scarlett’s eyes met Jim’s she smiled the same way she always used to so he knew things were okay. “Oh, I know someone does.” She watched Jim smirk as he stood straight again, eyes twinkling slightly as he tried to figure out if she was trying to tell him something she couldn’t say out loud; everyone but Scarlett oblivious to the small incremental movements in the dark outside the circle of light they were in. As she looked back at Jim again, she tried to keep her expression blank but her eyes expressive in an attempt to clue everyone in. “Play your game, Jim… we’re waiting…”

“The high-functioning sociopath, the politician, and the doctor.” Jim seemed to be talking to himself. “Who cares for you? Good old John Watson does…the doctor and his bleeding heart.” Scarlett gave John an apologetic look and he shook his head at her. “Or your dear detective perhaps?” he sneered, eyes full of loathing.

When Jim turned his gaze to Mycroft, Scarlett began to laugh. “What?” Jim turned back to her, furious. “What’d I miss?!”

“Mycroft and I do have an… _interesting_ relationship.” Scarlett chuckled softly before her eyes went blank. “But he’d give me up in a heartbeat to save his own skin…face it, Mycroft Holmes…you have a heart…and it makes you _afraid_.” Scarlett stared Mycroft down. “He stopped actually caring about me _years_ ago…ever since I one-upped him and he owed me a favour.”

“So…you pick the one that means least to you?” Jim frowned, tone dissatisfied. “How… _disappointing._ ”

“I wasn’t finished.” Scarlett butt in, smirking but her voice was icy, void of any emotion. “You know how I think…you know how I work… but I also know how _you_ work.” She watched Jim scoff as she went on, but there was a hint of discomfort in his demeanour. “Business and pleasure are the same thing to you…something everyone here has in common.”

“Your point?” Jim raised an eyebrow at her.

“You’ve each managed to piss off a substantial number of people.” She looked at a flicker of movement in the darkness, hoping one of them would see, but none did.

“D’ya think?!” John laughed nervously.

“You like it Jim… to the point where you occasionally _like_ getting caught… _particularly_ by _me_.” She cocked her head to one side. “I’m the only one that ever really beat you…and if you think I’ll _let_ you _beat me_ , then you’re mistaken.” She saw his eyes narrow slightly. “I won’t lose to you by giving you what you want.” She looked at Sherlock. “So…shoot me.” He stared at her blankly for a moment. “You heard me, _big boy_ , Shoot _me_.”

“Not a bad plan. Not a great one, but not bad…” Jim smiled wickedly as he pressed the gun to her head.

“NO!” Sherlock and John hollered, but Scarlett gave them a condescending look and shushed them.

“Oh, _Shutup_! Such drama queens.” Scarlett smirked. “He won’t _kill_ me. Hurt me, probably, but I’m no fun _dead_.” She looked along the barrel of the gun at Jim. “He knows killing me means he hasn’t really beaten me…not with all my little puzzles still in play.” She smiled her own sinister smile up at Jim. “ _I win…_ ”

“You never beat me.” Jim chided her, watching her carefully, looking wherever she looked. “We’re still playing.”

“Don’t you remember our first game?” Scarlett challenged. “Me… _fifteen_ , and you… _twenty._ ”

“YOU…” he screamed and then calmed himself. “Never beat me!” he finished with a hiss.

“I was only fifteen years old and I beat you!” she snarled, silencing him as she smiled and closed her eyes. “And, oh, how you wanted me.” She chuckled darkly. “It took you twelve years, but you got me.” Scarlett’s eyes flashed as she opened them. “That was always your weakness… _me_. You always had to prove me _wrong_. Prove me wrong now, _lover_. Shoot me.” Jim stared at her, wide-eyed, as she stood and turned to face him. “Shoot me!” she watched his inner struggle, feeling a tug on her heart as she saw him shake with the effort. “No?” she raised an eyebrow at Jim as she stepped towards him, gently slipping the gun from his fingers. “Shame, really.” She mused before snapping her fingers once, the laser dots on each man disappearing before she raised the gun, turning and shooting the three other men in the room.

“No!” Jim shouted in shock and anger as he watched the bodies crumple onto the warehouse floor.

“And now for you…” Scarlett sighed as she turned the gun on him. “You thought you controlled me… _owned_ me even.” She smiled as she stepped closer to Jim, trailing the gun across his cheek; blinking out an _SOS_ which she noted he saw. “So now you see!” she smiled, her tone a mix of sarcasm and real feeling. “I am not property…and I will not be controlled…” she took a step away from Jim and raised the gun. “Especially not by the likes of _you_!” Scarlett shouted as she spun on the spot and fired two shots into the darkness.

Jim raised an eyebrow at her when she turned back to him as two bodies fell into the light, each holding a gun, and pulled him into a kiss. “At least…not when you don’t want to be.” He smirked, but his eyes held confusion.

Scarlett smirked as she began walking backwards, “I told you, _no one_ beats _me_.” She winked as she stopped by Mycroft and Sherlock’s bodies lying on the floor. “C’mon,” she said as she kicked each of them once in the side. “Get up. There’s one more that want you four dead…and I don’t know where he is…”


	5. Explanation…Now.

Mycroft groaned slightly as he raised himself to his feet with the others. Scarlett rolled her eyes, “Toughen up princess.” She held up the gun she’d taken from Jim. “Be thankful I used this type of gun and not the one I know John has hidden in his trousers.”

“Thankyou, I’ll remember that.” Mycroft glared; his tone sarcastic.

“You can sass me later, Mycroft.” Scarlett snapped as she pushed the gun into the back of her jeans; clapping her hands twice and smiling as the lights came on and she could see the way out.

“Nice.” Sherlock chuckled as they made for the only door out. “When did you-”

“Last night.” Scarlett interrupted.

“How did you know-”

“I just did, alright?” Scarlett gave him a pleading look to shut up before roundhouse kicking the door off its hinges, jumping back as electrical sparks flew across the doorway for a few seconds. Scarlett saw the look of approval from Jim and rolled her eyes. “C’mon.”

“What happened to the snipers?” John asked, huffing in exasperation when everyone else groaned at his question. “What?!”

“I had Mycroft employ people to take them out.” Scarlett answered matter-of-factly.

“Not that I’m not surprised, but…” Jim frowned as they snuck through the dimly lit stairs and hallways, trying to make it to the roof. “What the fuck, Scar!” he whisper yelled as she pulled up short. “What the fuck was so important that you had to go about all _this_?!”

“Shut the fuck up, Jim.” Scarlett snapped as she peered around the edge of a broken window. “John?”

“Yeah?” John replied softly, moving forward when she gestured for him to come up to her. “What?”

“Is that what I think it is?” Scarlett asked and pointed to a flickering light on a rooftop two buildings over from them.

“If you’re thinking _sniper_ , then yes.” John made a face, looking from the searching laser pointer on the gun to their group.

“I thought you said you had Mycroft’s guys took care of them…” Jim raised an eyebrow at her, a small smirk tugging at his features.

“They did…” Mycroft glowered at the consulting criminal.

“Well, apparently they missed one.” Jim retorted quickly.

“They only snuffed your guys, Jim…” Scarlett murmured as she watched the dark figure repositioning his gun. “He’s one of _theirs…_ ”

“What are you thinking then? Run for it?” John asked as he assessed their situation.

“That’s a lot of window to run by…” Scarlett pursed her lips as she thought. “A lot of _floor-to-ceiling_ window to run by…”

“Oh, for Heaven’s sake!” Mycroft whisper yelled at them both. “Is he looking at the window?”

“No… still searching the rest of the building…” John mumbled. “Okay… _run!_ ”

Mycroft, Sherlock, John and Scarlett all took off as Jim called out. “Wait!” A single gunshot rang through the silence, followed by a cry of shock from Scarlett. “Scarlett!” Jim shouted as she fell, holding her right leg, hands clasped just above her ankle.

Jim ran towards her. “No!” Scarlett yelled as he knelt beside her, lifting her and running towards safety. Scarlett felt the impact of the bullet against Jim’s back before she heard the shot. “Jim!” she cried out in horror as he tumbled, with her in his arms, into the shadow of the wall. “No, Jim!” Scarlett grit her teeth as she pulled him behind the wall and pushed him up against it. As he raised his head to look at her, he was smiling slightly. “Wha-”

“You’re not the only person with access to bullet proof vests.” Jim winked at her and reached for her ankle. He sighed and tutted at her when she pulled her leg away from him. “Let me see, Scar.”

“It’s just a graze.” Scarlett gave him a strained smile as she stood and offered him her hand. She sighed when he looked at her dubiously and stood by himself. “I’m fine, just shocked by the initial pain.” She crinkled her nose and closed her eyes as she put her weight on her injured leg. “Damn…”

“You’re _so_ not okay, Lettie.” John said, instantly at her side.

“Lettie?” Jim raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“I’ll have to be.” Scarlett replied as she tore a strip of cloth off of her shirt and tied it around the wound on her leg.

“ _Lettie_?” Jim repeated, a hint of disgust in his voice.

“Can we discuss nicknames later?!” Scarlett hissed as she looked back at Jim.

“Yes, pressing matters…and such…” Mycroft looked on indifferently.

“Yeah, escape now, explain later.” Scarlett snapped as she grabbed Jim’s arm and dragged him towards the far door…and the fire escape.

“Fine, but why’d he shoot me _after_ you?” Jim asked curiously.

“Collateral damage…they kill you so I kill them.” Scarlett pointed over her shoulder at the Holmes brothers. “Hence this whole charade.”

“Next question…why are you leading us up?” Jim asked and she heard John agree.

“Because we need to go up to get down.” Scarlett replied simply as they reached the far door. When they looked at her like she was insane, she smiled and kicked the bottom of the door; watching in amusement as they saw the door spin on the bolt that acted as a pivot. She looked smugly at Mycroft, “ _Ladies first…_ ”

***

“Where to sir?” the driver asked Mycroft as they sped away from the warehouse.

Mycroft looked at Scarlett expectantly, eyes filled with condescension and she glared back at him as she answered the driver. “The wharf before Southwark Bridge…I have a feeling you’ll know it when-”

“You see it?” Mycroft scoffed.

“No, when you _smell_ it.” Scarlett crinkled her nose in disgust. “Rank, would be the word I’d use to describe that smell. Simply _awful!_ ”

“Righteo miss!” the driver replied before a shield came up separating them from the front seat.

“Sound proof, I take it.” Scarlett raised an eyebrow at Mycroft when he nodded.

“Right,” John clapped his hands together. “Explanation _please_.”

“Yes, I suppose I owe certain individuals one of those…” Scarlett looked apologetically at John and then at Jim. “Where should I start?”

“Don’t care.” Jim narrowed his eyes slightly. “Just make it good.”

“Don’t I always?” Scarlett smirked then shot a glare at Mycroft when he made gagging noises. “Want me to make those sounds real again, Mycroft?” a smile laced with malice curled her lips when he shut up. “There’s a good boy.” She looked at her hands and then at Jim. “I want to start by saying I’m sorry.” Jim scoffed. “I am though.” She looked at him in earnest and his gaze softened slightly. “The group first came to my attention during the recent gang fights…one man’s face kept popping up, around the time I found out you two were still… _alive_.” She narrowed her eyes at Sherlock and then at Jim; she shrugged. “And then he was everywhere I went.” She sighed, remembering. “I actually convinced myself it was coincidence…until Sherlock saw me dragged into the back of an unmarked van outside the hospital…”

_~Flashback~_

_"You will,” Mr. Reynolds began, pulling a remote from his trouser pocket and pointed it towards the screen. “Or your dear consulting criminal… will die.” As images of Jim walking through the hospital and down the streets of London flashed across the screen, Scarlett knew what she had to do; Jim’s voice echoing inside her head loudly. ‘Use your head, Scar…Use your head…Use your head… Use your head!’_

_“Good luck getting to him.” Scarlett chuckled darkly. “You won’t get anywhere_ near _him.”_

 _“Oh, he’ll come,” he smirked, his words coming out all sing-song. “Because we’ll have_ you _.”_

_Scarlett’s jaw clenched and she looked at the floor. “You think he cares that much?” she scoffed, watching him closely as he circled her. “That’s all you’ve got? You must be joking.”_

_“You mean, you wish I was joking.” Mr. Reynolds said as he came to a stop behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. “I’ll find him and kill him in front of you…here, in the street…your apartment…” he said slowly, his hands sliding along her shoulders and up her neck, tightening around her throat, restricting her breathing. “You don’t want to see what I do to people who refuse to do something when I ask nicely…” his hands tightened again and Scarlett’s eyes began to roll back into her head as her oxygen was completely cut off, his voice soft in her ear as he leant down to whisper into her ear. “This is me asking nicely, Miss Myers.” He let her go, throwing a knife into her lap as she gasped for breath, walking away. “Do_ not _disappoint me…”_

_~End flashback~_

“Naturally, I couldn’t go to who they’d threatened…and you’d vanished into thin air anyway.” She looked pointedly at Jim. “So I went to the only people I knew I could trust in this damned city…”

_~Flashback~_

_“That’s the thing…I’m in over my head here I’m afraid…” Scarlett sighed, hoping he wouldn’t hear the lie in her voice, and turned to look at John, eyes genuinely pleading. “I need your help…”_

_“Okay,” he replied, looking from her face to her side as he pushed her shirt further out of the way. “How can I… Jesus! What’d they beat you up with?! A crowbar?!” he made a disapproving face at Scarlett. “How long did you wait before coming to see me? I think you’ve got a broken rib…”_

_“Just fractured…I can still breathe.” Scarlett winced and then cried out as he pressed lightly against the black bruise on her side. “John, focus, please, lives are at stake!”_

_John sighed. “What do you need?”_

_“It takes a keen mind to outwit The Mockingbird…” Scarlett sighed. “You’ve heard Sherlock mention ‘dressing for the occasion’?” she smirked as he rolled his eyes at her and nodded. “I need you to get three Centurion Steal Vests.”_

_“Why?!” John stared at her, dumbfounded._

_“Trust me, where we’re going, we’ll need them…”_

_~End flashback~_

“They had to be undetectable to the vengeful eye.” Sherlock butt in, smirking at Jim. “And you were _incredibly_ vengeful.”

“I don’t blame him…” Scarlett sighed. “Wish he’d be my knight in shining armour when I actually needed rescuing.”

“Scar…” Jim warned, eyes flashing dangerously.

“I know, I know…” she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, after I told John that you were planning on killing each of us because we were… _too close_ … which, by the way, you believed far too easily.” She scolded John gently.

“Yes, but now there’s a ‘boy that cried wolf’ feeling to when I talk to you now.” John raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe next time I won’t believe you.”

Scarlett smirked, “Yes you will.” She looked back at Jim. “So John and I began planning, getting Sherlock interested, until finally…”

_~Flashback~_

_“You’ve been going to see John…at the clinic he works at…” Sherlock frowned at her._

_“Yes.” She nodded once, smiling as she waited for the inevitable assumption he’d make knowing her._

_“And also outside his place of work…” Sherlock’s frown vanished as he watched Scarlett sit in the chair where his clients always sat. “Why are you-”_

_“I need your help, Sherlock…” Scarlett looked up at him as she spoke over him, letting him see how scared she was. “Please…” she sighed as he knelt down in front of her. “You’re the only one who knows… why I love him…”_

_Sherlock breathed in sharply as he sat and looked at her. “Yes, well, you’ve always been drawn to the ultimate genius, both evil and benign.”_

_“You’re not benign.” Scarlett smirked, biting her lip when she saw him look away awkwardly. “Calm down, Sherlock…if I wanted in your pants I’d have said it straight away.” She chuckled lightly at his evident relief. “So glad you think of me as so repulsive.”_

_“Not_ you _…but your being with someone that is both enthralling and repellent.” Sherlock smirked back, finger interlacing under his chin. “So, people want us dead…” he paused. “They want you dead, me dead, Moriarty dead…anyone who they think is in their way basically…have I missed anyone?”_

_“Anyone associated with you as well… because they’re a weak point for you, they’ll exploit that.” She exhaled heavily. “Mycroft…” she paused as she saw something flicker through Sherlock’s eyes, her expression unreadable like his. “John…and Mary…” Scarlett watched Sherlock regard her carefully. “It’s The Mockingbird, Sherlock…”_

_Sherlock stood abruptly. “Why not do what they want you to do and be done with it?” he asked harshly._

_“Because…” she began, shouting, but quieted her voice when he turned to look at her again. “Because I care about you Sherlock. I’m not on either side…but on_ both _.” She looked at him pleadingly. “I don’t want to lose anyone. And let’s face it…” she smirked. “The world wouldn’t be the same without you and Jim in it.”_

_Sherlock half-smiled. “True,” he looked at her expectantly. “So…what do we do?”_

_Scarlett grinned playfully. “We fool Mycroft and John.”_

_~End flashback~_

“I really do _hate_ you sometimes, Scarlett.” Mycroft said, eyes narrowed dangerously at her.

“I know you do,” Scarlett smiled back sinisterly. “But it’s the fact I can fool you that makes me desirable to you…in _many_ capacities.” She winked at him and he scoffed at her, turning away, but she could see how strained his movements were.

“How on Earth could you trick _him_?” Jim scoffed, nodding in Mycroft’s direction.

“By letting him think he was playing _me_.” Scarlett simpered, looking at Mycroft. “You thought you had me _right_ where you wanted me…”

_~Flashback~_

_“Lettie? You know Scarlett?” Sherlock frowned at his brother._

_“Doctor Scarlett Emily Myers of Saint Bart’s Hospital, London.” Mycroft replied quickly. “I have a file on her, Sherlock, of course I know her.”_

_“Your brother always omits some if not all the facts.” Scarlett raised a speculative eyebrow at Mycroft before continuing. “Living in a world of goldfish makes one…frustrated…he got me out of trouble a few times, I provided a… service to relieve some of that frustration.” She shrugged. “At least until I saved his life one time and he owed me.”_

_“The Slavic ultimatum…when you went missing for two weeks.” Sherlock said matter-of-factly, a sparkle in his eye as realisation hit._

_Scarlett nodded “I got him out…and now I’m calling in that favour.”_

_“What if I don’t want to play this game?” Mycroft asked, looking at his nails boredly._

_“Shall I tell The Mockingbird how to get to you here?” Scarlett asked with an innocent smile, nodding in approval when he glared at her. “There’s a good lad.” She smirked as she pulled out an aerial view of a section of warehouses, spreading it out on Mycroft’s desk. “This was where he first showed me his work…torturing some poor sod for information.”_

_“Oh, your first date, how quaint.” Mycroft said, sarcasm practically dripping off his words. “What’s that got to do with anything?”_

_“He’s incredibly sentimental and, seeing as I’m going to make him think his only option is to kill me, this is where he’ll take us to die.” Scarlett shrugged. “Obvious.”_

_“Knowing what you are to him, why on Earth would he kill you?” Mycroft raised a sceptical eyebrow at her and she sighed._

_“Because, Mycroft Holmes, Jim Moriarty doesn’t like to share.” Scarlett sighed and looked down. “I’m going to hurt him.” She turned her gaze on Sherlock. “And your little brother is going to help me do just that…”_

_~End flashback~_

“And so, you saw me leave Mycroft’s office, obviously in cahoots with him, and kissing Sherlock only confirmed whatever theory you’d formed about why I was there in the first place.” Scarlett looked over at Jim. “I let you handcuff, blindfold and gag me…then, all I had to do was wait…” she grimaced. “Wait and _pray_ that you wouldn’t actually kill me.” She looked around at each of the men she’d escaped with. “Mycroft had people waiting to bump off your snipers and take their place so you thought all was well, I had to shoot Mycroft, Sherlock and John in front of you…and in front of the two men you saw me shoot.”

“Why in front of them?” John asked, frowning. “Couldn’t you just do that from the start? Kill them?”

“That’s where our driver came into it.” Mycroft smirked slightly.

“I gave him a copy of this.” Scarlett held up a thumb drive. “On it is a virus to take out the cameras…but it took time.” She shrugged, leaning back against the wall of the van they were in. “So I played the game, they thought I was on their side, doing what they wanted, each of you thought I was where you wanted me, when all along all I was waiting for was to see the little red lights of the cameras flicker out so I could get us the hell out of there.” She smirked at Jim who was looking at her with just a teensy hint of pride. “Were you starting to wonder?” her smile brightened, but remained sinister. “Did I nearly get you?”

“The blood in the bullet proof vests?” Jim asked with a slight frown.

“A little corn syrup and some red dye…so simple, yet so deceptive.” She looked back at Jim with amused disapproval. “Why has everything always got to be so clever with you lot?”

Jim smiled coyly. “The _SOS_ after you shot them did throw me slightly; I’ll admit…” his eyes flashed wickedly.

“Oh my god, she had you! She totally had you!” John exclaimed and Jim threw him a death glare.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Scarlett smirked, winking at Jim before sighing. “I doubt he’ll forgive me for this for quite some time though…”

“Don’t blame him…” John said, looking around. “So… safe then?” he asked with false optimism.

“Not quite…” Sherlock’s eyes lit up as the van came to a stop and the back doors opened. “One more that wants you dead, remember?”

“Who? Oh, Mister Charles Reynolds…” John closed his eyes and pinched his nose.

“He’s more than that, John.” Mycroft glanced over at Scarlett with detached approval. “He’s _The Mockingbird_.”

“The next criminal genius down from-”

“Me.” Jim said simply, eyes scanning Scarlett.

“Okay…so, what? You’re gonna get him?” John scoffed at the idea. “But…how?”

“His son.” Scarlett replied coldly as she pulled a handgun from the back of her jeans and flicked the safety off. “I’m going to kill his son.”


	6. To Kill a Mockingbird…

Scarlett smiled sinisterly at Mr. Reynolds son, Doctor Bryan, as she dialled his number. He picked up on the third rind. “ _Mockingbird_.” She began, not letting him talk. “I’ve got your cuckoo from the nest…you’ve got exactly… _eight minutes_ … before I blow his brains out…you know my terms… _do not_ disappoint _me_.” She hung up, dropping the phone in front of Doctor Bryan and shooting it.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman tortured and the life of her lover threatened.” Jim laughed softly, his voice cruel.

“Thanks for the review.” Doctor Bryan glared up at Jim.

“Oh, don’t give me another reason to shoot you, Scott.” Scarlett snarled as she kicked the backs of his knees, forcing him to kneel.

“Yes, never tempt a woman with a gun.” Jim chuckled darkly.

“You think I care what your slut thinks?” Doctor Bryan laughed and then cringed when he heard Scarlett take the safety off the gun, whimpering slightly as she pressed the barrel against his temple.

“Say that again,” Scarlett said, her voice sickly sweet. “I _dare_ you.”

“Lettie…you’re better than this…” John said gently, stepping into her line of sight. “Don’t give him the satisfaction of turning you into a killer…”

“Yes, love,” Jim said calmly as she felt his hand trail down her arm, his voice swiftly turning gleeful. “Let _me_ play with him…”

“ _He’s mine_.” Scarlett glared at the cowering criminal kneeling before her.

“No…” Mycroft said with a soft chuckle. “He’s the states…”

“Someone else will come…someone else will win…” Doctor Bryan scowled. “You’ll die, one way or another.”

“Yeah, your dad….and he’s toast when I get my hands on him.” Scarlett raised her hand and lashed out, backhanding him with the hand that held the gun. “You should’ve kidnapped _Jim_ and threatened _my_ life.” Scarlett sneered as she trailed a finger down Doctor Bryan’s cheek. “The people you wanted dead would be so by now…and,” she paused and brought the gun up level with his head as he began to cry and plead. “You’d get…to _live_.” The gun jolted in her hand as she pulled the trigger. “See you in _Hell_.”

“Ooo…harsh.” Jim smiled as he walked around Scarlett, kicking the limp corpse.

“But fair.” Scarlett smiled cruelly for a second before her expression became innocent once more until they were all plunged into darkness.

“No one move!” Sherlock shouted and everyone froze. No movement whatsoever…not ever a whisper. Until…

“Ooh…” Scarlett grinned evilly through the dark as a soft whistling, like that of a sweet bird, filtered through the pitch black air around them. “He’s here!” she cocked the gun in her hand and closed her eyes, listening intently to the sound as it circled them. “C’mon Charlie boy! Come on out and play.” Scarlett sneered at the darkness. As the sound stopped, Scarlett heard broken glass under someone’s foot. Scarlett smiled maliciously as she raised the gun in her hand. “ _Gotcha…_ ”

There was a distinct _thump_ as whoever she’d shot hit the ground and Scarlett’s breath hitched. “Lights!” Mycroft and Sherlock called out together and the warehouse room they were in was immediately lit up like a Christmas tree. They all walked towards the body, Mycroft using his foot to roll the body over.

It was indeed Mr. Reynolds. “And so _The Mockingbird_ was no more…” Sherlock said profoundly as he and his brother shared a look.

“You did that well…” Jim murmured as he pressed a gentle kiss against the nape of Scarlett’s neck.

She shuddered lightly but shrugged, smirking as she turned to face him. “Well…I _did_ learn from the _best_ …”

“Indeed…” Jim bit his lip, looking down briefly before his eyes found hers once more, something akin to an apology flickering in the dark depths of his chocolate orbs.

“Let’s get out of here. You know…before something else happens.” Scarlett smiled as Jim pulled her against him, a look of almost forgiveness in his eyes but it was overshadowed by pride and lust.

“But then life would be _oh so boring_.” Jim smirked wickedly before kissing her cheek.

“Oh, get a room…” Scarlett’s head snapped in the direction of Mycroft.

“And here I was thinking you didn’t know the meaning of that phrase.” She smirked as Mycroft glared daggers at her. “Now, seeing as I’ve just saved your lives… and taken down the leader of a serious crime syndicate… a little exception might be made here in mine and Jim’s leaving… _unfollowed_ …”

“I _don’t_ think so, my dear…” Mycroft looked at the ground and then at her and Jim, eyes glinting maliciously just before the lights went out.

“Shame…this was _so_ much _fun_!” Jim’s voice echoed through the dark along with a hissing noise and the clank of metallic locks. Scarlett gasped quietly when she felt Jim’s hand slip into hers and felt something pressed over her face. “Put this on…” he murmured softly before dragging her along behind him as the sounds of people coughing filled the air around them. “Amnesia gas, boys! Don’t worry, it won’t kill you, but you won’t have any reason to come after us…because you won’t remember _any_ of it. I thank you all for helping us eliminate _The Mockingbird_ …but you’ve played your parts now.” As Jim opened a door and pulled Scarlett out into the cool night air, he called back into the empty warehouse. “ _Night kids! Don’t be late for school!_ ”

***

Scarlett walked into her living room…it was almost unrecognisable. There stood Jim, in the middle of the room, setting up a camera and a satellite to send out whatever message he was no doubt going to send to the world.

“What are you doing?” Scarlett asked, her voice shaking slightly.

“Letting the world know daddy’s back…” Jim replied, not looking at her as he finished the programming for the satellite, no doubt making it untraceable. “And he’s not happy…”

“You want everyone to know you’re back?” Scarlett asked him, but got no reply. “Won’t sending your image out there reverse the effects of the amnesia gas?”

“Uh, yeah…” he replied as if he wasn’t really thinking about anything else.

“But…I’ll lose you…” Scarlett felt tears pooling against her eyes.

“No you won’t, love.” Jim replied, a smile in his voice.

Scarlett looked at the gun that sat on the table beside her. “You’re right,” she said softly, her hand resting on the gun for a moment before picking it up and aiming it at Jim as he turned to look at her. “I won’t…”

Scarlett raised her arm slowly, her hand shaking slightly with the weight of the gun she held.

Jim smirked. “You can’t.” he took a step towards her. “I know you can’t.”

“Oh, yeah?” she scoffed, feigning bravado, and shot the floor next to his floor. “Try me.”

“You missed.” He smiled.

“The next one won’t.” Scarlett glared at Jim down the barrel of the gun.

“Fine.” Jim stopped, his face going blank. “I know you _won’t_.”

“No you don’t.” she smirked back at him, but it was fake.

“DON’T LIE TO ME!” he shouted, making her flinch slightly. “You know _I_ know you won’t.” Jim’s wicked smile had returned. “You’re on the side of the angels, but you belong to the devil…” her face fell as he took the three steps necessary to reach her. His eyes glinted dangerously as he slipped the gun from her fingers. “You’re _mine_ now.” Jim drew Scarlett to him and kissed her passionately, revelling in the way she melted against him still after so long. “ _Mine_.” Jim repeated as he pulled back from their kiss slightly.

Scarlett’s breathing hitched in the familiar way it always did when he got like this around her and she nodded. “Yours.” She looked at the camera and the screens. “Your adoring public awaits…”

“Mmm, don’t they just?” Jim smirked down at her, his eyes boring into hers. “You realise I have to sedate you and leave you here so they believe you at least _tried_ to stop me.” Scarlett nodded as she saw the syringe in his hand and felt it press into her neck. “Good girl.” Jim smiled and kissed her roughly as he pulled the syringe out and threw it away. As she slipped from his arms and onto the floor, she heard Jim whisper something to her softly, but she barely heard it. As she slipped into darkness, she saw him look into the lens of the camera. “Did you miss me?”


	7. Epilogue

Scarlett opened her door and gasped as Jim rushed inside, slamming the door behind him as he pressed her roughly against the wall. As he kissed her passionately and they discarded their clothes, he murmured against her lips. “Didn’t I tell you I’d come back for you?”

“It would seem my angel of death delivered on that,” Scarlett sighed then gasped as he lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the bedroom. “His only promise to me.”

“And now,” Jim smiled wickedly as he kicked the bedroom door shut. “We disappear…”

“We?” she asked breathlessly as she fell back onto her bed and he crawled up the bed to hover over her possessively.

“Yes, _we._ ” Jim smirked as his hand vanished up under her skirt, his dark chuckle ghosting over the bare skin of her neck when his fingers slipped beneath her knickers as her head lolled back and she moaned. “Or did you forget, pet…that you’re the property of _The Devil?_ ”

_The End?_


End file.
